


Helping Hands

by CaffieneKitty



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Gen, M/M, Science Experiments, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-29 01:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7665595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffieneKitty/pseuds/CaffieneKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sacrifices one makes for science.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helping Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [watsons_woes](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/) July Writing Prompt #30: ["Why exactly do you need chloroform at 2am?"](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/1626447.html).

"Why exactly do you need chloroform at 2am?" I asked the attenuated shadow standing at the foot of my bed. While normally I was quite happy to go along with Holmes' requests in the surety they would come to make sense when he explained his reasoning, I was less inclined towards co-operation when a six-foot alarum woke me from a sound and just sleep to inquire after the contents of my medical kit. "If you plan to use it as a soporific, I would not recommend doing so unsupervised."

Holmes gave a noise of discomfort, and I wakened further. "Chloroform is also an excellent solvent," he uncharacteristically muttered, "Particularly of certain tree-sap derivatives."

I sighed and rolled over, waving in the direction of my medical bag. "I am presuming this is for an urgent case or you would not have wakened me. Though I don't see why you wouldn't just help yourself without my leave and let me sleep."

The lugubrious shadow shuffled. "I'm afraid I'm going to require your assistance, Watson. I find myself... inconvenienced."

I frowned, and reached for the pack of lucifers by the bedside lamp. Striking one, I beheld Holmes in its flickering light.

His hands were held oddly together before him, and he appeared to be wearing very loose pale gloves. I had a bare moment of horror thinking Holmes had done something terrible to the skin on his hands, but my friend appeared to be in no pain.

As I set the flame to the lamp, Holmes began to explain. "I was unable to sleep, so I decided to use my time in the pursuit of scientific advancement. I had been thinking of methods of capturing every detail and trace of evidence from corpses, and my mind had turned to the saps of the trees of the Indian subcontinent and the Straits Settlements of the Malay archipelago."

I rubbed at my eye, "I don't see how this relates to your urgent need for chloroform in the small hours of night."

"I am coming to that. I had thought that encasing the hands of a corpse - or indeed a suspected criminal - in such a substance and ten preserving the casting would provide a more detailed record of their hands, even to finger-prints. I was attempting to ascertain which substance provided the best results. This-" Holmes raised his hands, which now appeared bound together by solidified porridge. "This was my attempt with gutta-percha."

He tapped his hands against my bedroom wall with a dull thud.

"You've, hm." I manfully suppressed a laugh. "You've encased your hands in gutta-percha?"

Holmes' mouth twitched. "Yes. And far too thickly to be brittle or flexible. I had hoped it would crack away once dried, and come off like an eggshell."

I couldn't help allowing a short bark of amusement. "Oh my."

"I must say, I am grateful for you habit of sleeping with your door open." Holmes' mouth twitched into a rueful grin. "Attempting a doorknob in this state would have been absolute murder."

I gave up the fight against laughter, swinging my legs out of bed and helplessly chuckling. Holmes' eyes sparkled in amusement at his own predicament.

"Come along, old fellow," I said, taking the lamp in one hand and my medical bag in the other. "Let's get you sorted out."

"Much appreciated, Watson. I do apologize for awakening you."

"Holmes, if you are ever in need of my help, you should never hesitate to rouse me, no matter the time of day or night." I smiled at Holmes. "Though perhaps some advancements in forensic science are best left for daylight hours?"

"Perhaps." Holmes smiled back.

-.-.-  
(that's it)

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray for Wikipedia! [Uses of Chloroform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroform#Uses), [Gutta-percha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha).


End file.
